Just one night
by Always-Keenler
Summary: Line up the facts, she thinks. Fact 1:Ressler and I just had sex. Fact 2: It was a one night stand—no, no Liz, that's not a fact. Don't jump to conclusions. Try again. Fact 2: …It's not something that's happened before. (Yes, that's better) Fact 3: Ressler just went to make us both breakfast, meaning either he's hungry, or he actually cares about me in a romantic way.
1. One night

**Did I tell you guys that my biggest problem with writing is that I get easily carried away? No? Well, now you know. I can't not stop myself from writing down my ideas and, most of the time, they don't fit together, so I start writing another fic. That's what happens here. But don't worry, I will still update «the life she deserves», I just sent two chapters to my beta.**

 **Since I don't want to abuse her kind help, that chapter was only writing and verify by me. I apologize for any mistakes.**

 **That one is set in an alternate-universe where Liz didn't have to run away from the Cabal and the FBI. She never betrays Ressler and her team and she's still an FBI agent.**

 **Hope you guys enjoys it.**

She keeps catching him looking at her. Normally, this might have unsettled her—she'd probably even call him out on it—but today she allows it. She enjoys it, even. Although she knows it'll probably lead to nothing, she relishes in the fact that he finds her beautiful enough to stare at.

But then she catches the _way_ he's looking at her, and she is suddenly unsettled and ruffled. He's not just looking at her the way you'd look at an attractive person…he's looking at her so hard she can almost feel his eyes drilling holes into her.

Ressler is looking at her like she's made of diamonds. Like she's the most beautiful woman in the world—like she's not even a woman at all, but a masterpiece.

The last person to look at her like that had been Tom.

Liz tries to ignore him, pretending to bring her attention back to her computer, trying to complete her report on the last blacklister they catched.

But he won't stop staring at her. She thinks maybe she _should_ call him out then. After all, doesn't he have things to do? "Ressler, don't you have someplace to be? Some papers to print? Report to give to Cooper?"

"Wha...?" Ressler says, still staring.

"Sorry! Did I interrupt something? This comes from Samar who just enters their office, making both of them jump in surprise.

"No, no..nothing. Why would you ask that?" Ressler pointedly looking at Samar while waiting for an answer.

"Well, you were gawking at her like a high school boy on prom night." Samar answers with a provocative smile.

Liz flushes. "What? No! I mean—" Ressler stammers. His face is rapidly reddening.

Samar laughs again, and, despite the pointed look Liz's trying to give her, she exits their office as fast as she came in.

Ressler sighs, "Okay…listen, Liz."

She obeys, turning towards him.

"You must know that by now but… Aram and Samar are holding this New Year's party tonight. And…well, I'm not the kind of guy who like office's party…. but it's New Year's party and I thought I would made an effort and… I'm rambling am I? Anyway, I thought it would be nice for us to go there like…. together?" he looks hopefully at her, his hands jammed in his pockets and his shoulders hunched. She never saw Ressler like that before. He was always so confident about everything. Maybe Samar was right after all—he _did_ look like a high school boy asking his crush to prom.

Except she wasn't sure she was his crush. Why would she be? She was so messed up and complicated. Liz's initial reaction is to deny his request. But, then she realizes three things: one, that she really _doesn't_ have anything planned for tonight, two, that Ressler was, indeed, making a big effort by choosing to go to the party and three, that she…she think she _might_ actually possibly want to be his date. Maybe.

"Sure." She hears herself say it before her mind has even made up a decision.

Ressler blinks, taken aback, "What?"

"Sure, I'll be your plus one." A smile tugs at her lips as she says it.

Liz smoothes the wrinkles out of her dress for the umpteenth time. _I look fine,_ she tells herself, but she doesn't quite believe it. She's wearing a black leather dress—not something she's worn before, and probably not something she'll wear any time soon. It's a v-neck, and backless, so it isn't exactly ideal for the winter time, but it's the only thing she had that would be reasonable for a New Years party.

She hears a knock on her apartment door, and she knows it must be Ressler. Looking at the mirror one last time, her reflection reveals that her hair, which was pulled back into a high ponytail, isn't _perfect,_ but it's good enough. Besides, she doesn't have the time to fix it.

Ressler knocks again, and she takes a deep breath—for some reason, she's nervous—and opens the door.

Ressler's face is brighter than usual. Maybe, it's the natural smile on his lips or the way his eyes are shining. No matter what it is, Liz finds him even more attractive. "Hi," he says, his smoky tone makes Liz shivers, "These are for you." That's when she notices a bouquet of flowers in his right hand—yellow roses, her favorite.

"Thank you," she takes the flowers from him. They're already in a vase, so she sets the whole thing on the coffee table. "Come on in," she says stepping aside and letting him in. She closes the door behind him and turns to look at him.

He's staring at her. Again.

But she's staring at him, too.

His hair is slightly ruffled, it's an unusual look for him, but she likes it. His white shirt is spotless, and matches his blue and black striped tie perfectly.

"You look…" he gulps, "you…wow, Liz. You look incredible."

"You too," she says, suddenly shy, "Except…" she reaches over, grabbing his tie. "Let me fix this," she's suddenly aware of how close their faces are as she begins to fix his tie.

"There," she says once it's done. She's very aware of the fact that his eyes haven't left her face the whole time. Also, her hands remain on his chest, resting there. She tells them to _move_ , but she can't seem to get control of them.

In fact, she can't seem to get control of any part of her body. Although her brain is screaming a warning: _Elizabeth Keen, you stop this right now! He's your partner and you'll only get hurt!,_ her body doesn't seem to listen. Her hands trail down Ressler's chest, feeling the hard, shaped muscles underneath his shirt, and her eyes skim down his body. Ressler's breathing heavily, watching her every move.

And then she's kissing him. His tie knotted in her fist and his mouth on hers. She's not even sure who initiated it—they seemed to lunge for each other at exactly the same moment. But she also knows that kissing him _isn't enough._

Quickly, as if she's afraid she'll lose time, she rips off the tie she just so carefully fixed, her hands immediately moving to the buttons on his shirt. Ressler's hands find the straps to her dress, which he pushes off her shoulders, pushing her up against the door as he's doing so.

His lips find her shoulder, kissing the collar bone and then moving up to her neck. "What about the party?" Liz finds herself asking as her hands comb through his hair.

His arms find her waist, and her legs find his, wrapping around them. Ressler grins at her, "Who cares?"

She laughs at that, all thoughts and fears suddenly melting away. She doesn't think. She doesn't need too. She just needs him. "Bedroom's that way." She nods at the hallway as he carries her towards it, and her lips find his again, and she feels herself sigh into his mouth.

They dispense the rest of their clothes on her floor before they even make it to the bed, where their passion only intensifies, not dwindling, not daring to stop, even when they hear the countdown outside and the fireworks overhead, they don't stop—they _can't_ stop.

And Liz doesn't want it to stop. Not ever.

 **So, what's your thought? Don't hesitate to drop a comment. I really like to read you guys.**

 **I don't know how long «the life she deserves» will be but that story will be 4 or 5 chapters long MAX.**

 **I forgot to wish you guys a happy blacklist day! Let's hope for a good episode!**


	2. The morning after

_**Wow guys! Thank you so much for all the reviews and all the love. I'm really really happy that you guys enjoy the story as much as I love writing it.**_

 _ **In that chapter, I'm trying to portray Liz the same way as I'm seeing her right now. I think she think she doesn't deserve something better than Tom.**_

 _ **Enjoy.**_

She feels Ressler moving behind her, repositioning his body, tightening his hold around her bare waist. She's been awake for some time now, but she doesn't move, partly because she enjoys the feeling of Ressler's body covering hers, arms around her, his nose pressed against her neck…and partly because she knows. Although the last night was good— _wonderful_ , even, Liz _knows_ it was only a one-night-stand. She knows that she's too complicated for him and that nothing can really come out of this.

Ressler must know, too. He must know that they're better off as just partners, at best just friends and never to do this again, never to speak of this again. That's why she refuses to let Ressler know she's awake. She knows how this is supposed to go. He's supposed to sneak out before she's awake, and then they're supposed to act normal, like nothing at all happened.

Still, even with the facts staring her right in the face, she can't help but notice that he's _not_ getting up. He's _not_ sneaking out, and right now, lying in bed with him, she's never felt more relaxed.

"Are you awake?" his voice whispers, tickling the back of her neck. Liz says nothing, confused. Why isn't he leaving? "Liz?" he whispers again, and she feels him sitting up. _Now he's going to leave_ she thinks.

She feels his hand on her forehead, light as a feather, brushing her hair away. Then, his lips softly kissing her temple. Even though she'd felt his lips all over her body the night before, the touch still makes her heart pound. She's even more confused—he _knows_ it was just a one-night stand, right? "I know you're awake," Ressler says, a hint of a smile in his voice. Liz gives up and opens her eyes, only to find Ressler's soft ones inches from hers.

"Good morning," he says planting another kiss on her temple, "I'm going to make some breakfast." With one last kiss, he gets up and dresses, heading out the door without another word.

Liz watches him go, not quite sure how to react. The way he's acting…so casual, so normal, as if they were already a couple and they'd had sex a million times before…what does it mean?

 _Line up the facts and com to a conclusion,_ she thinks. This tactic has always worked when she's faced with a difficult problem.

Fact 1: Ressler and I just had sex.

Fact 2: It was a one night stand— _no, no Liz, that's not a fact. Don't jump to conclusions. Try again._

Fact 2: …It's not something that's happened before. ( _Yes, that's better)_

Fact 3: I think that I still have feelings for Tom.

Fact 4: I surely don't deserve someone a good as Ressler.

Fact 5: Ressler just went to make us both breakfast, meaning either he's just really really hungry, or he actually cares about me in a romantic way, and would possibly want to create an actual relationship out of this.

 _Come to a conclusion._ Her head swims as she tries to add all these facts together, desperately trying to make sense of them, but…it just didn't work. The equation was faulty. She shakes her head, trying to clear it, and she realized that, despite the situation, she really _was_ hungry, and an irresistible smell of bacon is drifting up from the kitchen into the bedroom

 _I'll figure this out later_ she tells herself as she rises out of bed and throws on yesterday's clothes.

Ressler smiles when he sees her enter the kitchen and begins to pour her a cup of coffee. She shifts uncomfortably. Shouldn't they talk about things? "Ressler…" she says, but he's busy fixing her cup of coffee—with no sugar and just a touch of cream, just the way she likes it.

"Ressler," she tries again.

"Do you want sausage or bacon? Or both? Both is good."

" _Ressler."_

He turns back to her, plate full of eggs, bacon and sausage in his hand, looking concerned, "What?"

"Shouldn't we…talk about this?"

His eyebrows knit together for a moment, and he goes to sit in the chair next to her, setting the plate of breakfast food down in between them. "What is there to talk about, Liz?"

She herself isn't really sure, but she doesn't dare let him know that. "I just…think we should discuss…what's going to happen next."

"Oh…" Ressler looks slightly hurt for a moment, and Liz can't quite figure out why. "What do you _want_ to happen next?" Ressler asks, looking up at her.

She sighs, "I don't know, that's why I asked you." _Because we're partners, Red is always getting involve in my life, and there's no way we can start a relationship right now._ "I…don't think I'm in a place where I…want a relationship right now."

Ressler lick his lips before saying, quietly, "Because of Tom?"

Honestly, Liz doesn't know if it's because of Tom. He is definitely out of her life, doing what spies do, and she knows that. And, although she'll always love Tom, and she'll never get over of how beautiful their life was once, she could never forgive him for what he did to her. So, she knows she has to move on, stop living in the past.

But she also knows that she can't move on with Ressler. She can't move on with someone who could do so much better than her, with someone she doesn't deserve. So, to preserve her already broken heart, all she says is, "Yes, because of Tom."

Ressler nods, like he's expecting that. He rises suddenly, and says, rather stiffly, "Well, then. I guess we'll just head up to the post-office and forget about the whole thing? If…it that's what you want."

 _No, no. That's not what I want._ "Yes, I think that's for the best."

He nods again and walks away without another word, and Liz watches him go, feeling an unexpected pit in her stomach as she does.

 _ **So, what's going to happen next to make Liz change her mind. Is Ressler going to give up so easily?**_

 _ **I want so hear what you have to say!**_

 _ **Love you guys xoxox**_


	3. Wise words

_**Hey guys,**_

 _ **I really want to thank you for all the kind messages. I'm really happy that you all love the story!**_

 _ **Sorry for the big delay guys! I'm a little busy right now. Plus, with everything that's going on in the show, I'm kind of having trouble writing about them. I only hope it will get better!**_

The tension in the air is nearly tangible—Liz can feel it pushing them apart, so strong it was almost like a physical barrier. This was not how things were supposed to go _at all_. It's been a few days, and she and Ressler have barely said two words to each other.

The odd stiffness between them is completely unnoticed by Aram, who is momentarily too absorbed with his research to notice something is wrong, and is therefore blissfully unaware that his two friends were now not speaking to each other (or that they had sex in the first place). Cooper seems more suspicious, often glancing between Ressler and her with a question mark on his face.

Samar, however, definitely knows something is up. She sees the confused glances she gives them. Although Liz's pretty sure she hasn't quite figured it out yet, she knows she will sooner or later and she knows she will question her about it.

Hopefully it will be later—she can't deal with Samar disapproval right now, she already feels guilty enough. Red had invited her to lunch today, and, although she knows that he loves Ressler and would approve a relationship between the,, she can't help but feel scared of his reactions when he's going to find out.

"I'm going to lunch," she announces to no one in particular, more to clear the silence in the room than anything else.

Ressler says nothing; his back is to her.

"Hurry back," is all Cooper says.

Aram looks up from his computer, "Can you bring me back some—"

"I'm sorry Aram, but I'm lunching with Red, it might take a while." Liz says, picking up her purse and jacket.

* * *

"Hello Lizzie!" Red says cheerily when Liz walks into the restaurant, "I'm glad you could join me."

"So, how things are going at the Post-Office. Did they find anything on the new blacklister?" Red asks, while signing a paper brought by Dembe.

"Oh, we're working on it…" she winces at how lame that sounds.

Her stiff tone doesn't go past Red. "You know, Lizzie, by now I would think you trust me enough to tell me what's bothering you. Is it Tom? Did he came back to bother you? I can take care of it if you let me… Or is it something more … complicated?

Surprised, Liz doesn't know how to respond. Even after all this years, she was scared to tell her worries to Red. She knows how reckless he could be and she didn't want to put Ressler on his personal blacklist. Besides, what would he thinks of her or her reactions? She didn't want to hear his moralizing speech.

"Keen." Liz's so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't notice that Ressler is standing next to their table.

"Hello agent Ressler!" Red says with a knowing smile that worries Liz. Is it possible that he KNOWS what's going on even if they kept what happen between them secret? "What are you doing here?"

His eyes don't leave Liz's face as he says, "You left this. You'll need it if we find out where the blacklist is hiding" And hands her her cell phone.

"Thanks," she says, trying desperately to look anywhere but Ressler or Red, who seems to catch on their weird behaviour.

"Well, Agent Ressler do you want to join us for lunch?" Red says, looking between the two of them.

Ressler looks at Liz for permission. _You're a grown man, Ressler, you don't need my permission to go out to lunch!_ She just raises her eyebrows at him. _Make your own decision._

"No, I think it's best if I go back to work on the case," he turns and walks in the direction of the exit.

"You shouldn't neglect lunch Donald, it's not good for your health!" Red calls after him, with the smile he only keeps for her partner.

"I somehow doubt you really worry about that, but I'll buy take out before heading for the post-office," he turns and walks out of the restaurant.

As soon as he's out of earshot, Red turns back toward Liz, "Well, Lizzie how about you start telling me what's going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking"

Red puts his hand on hers. "Lizzie, I might be older but I'm not blind. Anyone who saw that exchange would know that there's romantics feelings between Agent Ressler and you. He would _not_ stop looking at you the whole time and you were acting like a little girl who saw her crush."

Liz flushes. She knows she shouldn't be surprise about Red seeing those things, she just wasn't sure if she was ready to talk about them.

"Sorry, Lizzie I don't mean to pry or to make you uncomfortable" Red says, "I think it's a good thing for both of you! You deserve happiness and I think Donald can give you that Lizzie. "

"You really think that?" Liz's heart speeds up, as she suddenly pictures herself and Ressler in an actual relationship,

"I do, you two understand each other in a way not a lot of person can. I believe he's the one who can help you learn to love again Lizzie. Plus, Donald definitely got lucky with you!" Red gives her a real, genuine smile.

Liz smiles back. She can't help it—the fact that Red approves their relationship makes her believe an actual relationship it possible.

"Now, come on," Red says, smiling and wave for the waiter, "I'm starving."

 _ **Hope you guys enjoy that chapter! A little Red in a keenler fic is always good!**_

 _ **I will try to update it sooner!**_


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